Vandergrift No. 2 fire department resumed normal operations Tuesday evening after being out of service since April 10.
Westmoreland County Public Safety Director Scott Stepanovich said Vandergrift No. 2 was out of service from April 10-21, an additional five days after Vandergrift Mayor Lenny Collini had said the borough’s departments were returning to normal operations. Stepanovich said Vandergrift No. 2 resumed operations Tuesday night.
A fireman at Vandergrift No. 2, who declined to give his name, told TribLive the department only resumed operations Tuesday at 8:30 p.m., a time Stepanovich confirmed.
“That was a false statement put out by our mayor,” the fireman said, referring to Collini’s claim that both departments resumed operations last week.
During the 11-day lapse, the fireman said, Vandergrift No. 2 could not respond to calls, participate in training or even access its hall for the department’s monthly meeting.
In the meantime, Parks Township, Hyde Park and Oklahoma VFDs covered for the department, he said.
The service gap was caused by lapsed workers’ compensation insurance, which the mayor said was reinstated April 16.
Vandergrift officials noticed the lapse in coverage April 10, grounding both Vandergrift fire departments.
Though volunteer firefighters are not employed by Vandergrift, Pennsylvania law requires municipalities to provide workers’ compensation coverage for local first responders.
A fireman at Vandergrift No. 1, who also declined to give his name, said the department resumed its service last Thursday as initially reported. He said crews have responded to calls normally since then.
Collini did not respond to multiple TribLive requests for comment. Vandergrift Council President Tom Holmes also did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Collini previously told TribLive that Vandergrift is still looking into the cause of the insurance lapse, but he said “more than likely it was just the wrong email address.”
